FIG. 7.

Akt regulation of CVB3 replication is not caspase dependent. (A) Cleavage of caspase-3 in HeLa cells transfected with the dominant negative Akt1 constructs is reversed by the multicaspase inhibitor zVAD.fmk. Transfected HeLa cells were treated with zVAD.fmk (50 μM) starting 1 h prior to infection. β-Actin expression was measured for equal protein loading. The data represent two independent experiments. pi, postinfection. (B) Inhibition of caspase-3 cleavage by zVAD.fmk does not preserve viral protein expression in infected HeLa cells, indicating that the regulatory effect of Akt on virus replication is not a caspase-dependent process. The data represent two independent experiments. Density values for protein expression are expressed as the fold change compared to nontreated dn-Akt1 cells infected with CVB3.